Desolate Sunset
by Souhai
Summary: The two women lamented internally, "Where is Natsuki?" (ShizMai, ShizNat, NatMai)


The sun had begun its descend down the mountains, but Natsuki was still nowhere to be seen. Was she ever serious at all about attending school? Mai was hardly impressed that the serial truant would stand her up too, considering that they had agreed on a meet-up. Something about the print-outs the delinquent would need to avoid failing classes. At this rate, however, was it even important? The lack of attendance would have set her back by another year, or lead to her expulsion at worst. Any of this was hardly Mai's business of course, but she couldn't just leave her friend in the lurch. The student sat in the empty classroom waiting, even as the space was being dyed into the same hues as her hair.

How long had it been, four hours? Mai was getting impatient. Natsuki was not going to show up, was she? Mai could just leave the print-outs in Natsuki's room, but surely she would require some assistance in understanding the material? Does Natsuki… Even care at this point? The temperature of the room fell with each passing minute, until Mai had enough of waiting. If the delinquent was not going to show up, Mai would simply look for her around the campus. There was nowhere else for Natsuki other than the school, the church and the dorms. Where else could she have gone to, anyway?

The Student Council Room would be the best place to start. From what Mai could tell, Natsuki often hung out with the Student Council, specifically the President, despite not being affiliated much with the student authority. Even the council would have gone on back to the dorms at this hour; The sudden thought annoyed the redhead mildly. What did Natsuki think of her anyway? A mother? No matter, Mai would give her a piece of her mind when she finally finds the failing student.

Knocking on the door of the Student Council Room only yielded silence. Mai could only assume that the room had been vacated already. With her heart pulled sullen, she decided to return to the dorms. Natsuki… Natsuki will just have to study somehow. Mai had enough of worrying for the girl who had little care for her own predicament The hallways were the colour of the sunset and devoid of life while the student made her way towards the main entrance of the school. The side entrance to the dorms would have been locked at this time.

The sound of hollow clutter drew Mai's attention, before she turned around the corner and down the stairs. It was the distinct sound of blunt wood and ceramic, and there was only one room from whence it came from—The Tea Ceremony Room. It was the President's, Fujino Shizuru's, territory. Where Fujino could be, Natsuki may follow. Even though the redhead had finally resolved to leave Natsuki to her own devices, she decided to investigate the noise anyway.

"H-Hello, is anyone inside?" Mai called out after two knocks on the door. A sense of anxiety immediately took hold; What if she was getting herself into trouble with orphans again? Her powers… They were not something she wished to acknowledge. The destructive force was not what she wished for in her life. If anything, the responsibility was an added weight to her existing load.

There was no response. Not until Mai finally resolved to drag her feet away, when a sing-song voice called out. "_Who is it? Come in."_

A pause lingered in Mai's stance, before she did as told. The President was definitely inside; The accent was unique only to her in this school. She was unsure whether to involve herself in another situation again, considering it was nearly time to make dinner. Takumi and his friend would be coming by today, so extra portions will have to be prepared. Extra portions require extra time, something Mai used up while waiting in vain. The circumstances were against her, but the redhead made the decision to enter the foreign space.

The room, in its traditional design of modesty, was equally dyed red and orange from the passing sunset. A person sat at the alcove in the room, clad in the traditional Japanese kimono. The sunlight made it difficult to discern what colour it had. It seemed like an uncharacteristic bluish-grey, but anything the President wore always suited her immensely. Being in such a space made Mai feel underdressed, but the room's occupant did not mind otherwise.

"Tokiha…" The busty redhead's presence was the least of Shizuru's expectations. Should she welcome her in, or dispel her? Only the company of solitude was sought, so Mai was definitely an intruder in the room. At least, not when the elder desired Natsuki's company most of all. However, the woman had been missing for a few days. Anywhere in the mainland was a possibility for the biker, where Shizuru could not easily follow. With the elder's heart set on wishing for Natsuki's presence, the elder could not muster the energy to drive Natsuki's friend away. "... Would you like to join me?"

The student shuffled visibly. Her discomfort in the setting was obvious. Mai's reaction was worlds apart from Natsuki's, who never gave a second thought about the Tea Ceremony Room. She always seemed to enter and leave as she pleased, as long as Shizuru was present. Perhaps it was due to the freedom granted to her by Shizuru, but Natsuki never protested terribly against being dressed to fit in. It was always such fun to fuss over the beautifully stubborn girl like so. The mild flushes in Natsuki's cheeks was always a sight to behold.

Thinking about Natsuki only dampened Shizuru's spirits further.

"I… I guess, yeah." The atmosphere about the President seemed different. Mai wasn't sure how to describe it, but it felt as though it would be bad to leave the elder woman by herself. The President seemed to be less confident, if that was ever possible. Her posture looked normal, her expression seemed the usual, but it was _just_ something about her that seemed off.

Getting up from her _seiza_ position, the President merely gestured for Mai to sit and make herself comfortable before she knelt in front of a cabinet, presumably to gather more tea and a bowl for the busty friend. From a different angle than before, Mai got a better look of the elder's kimono. It was definitely a greyish blue, but it took on a muted grey tone in the drench of orange light. Little flowers adorned the edges of the sleeves, and they were all Mai could spot before the elder returned with more materials.

Seated in front of Mai, Shizuru gazed at the bowls at her knees a second longer than usual, before briefly showing a slight smile to the student. She had sensed that she was being watched earlier, but it was chalked up to be nothing more than curiosity, due to the lack of malice. Returning her gaze to the bowls pushed out all other distracting thoughts, just as it always did whenever a tea ceremony was in order.

Mai understood it all along, but Fujino Shizuru was incredibly graceful for her age. She seemed to have a soul of an elderly Japanese spirit even though she was still a highschool student. There were nary any wasted gestures while the elder prepared the tea, mixing and frothing the concoction as she always did; Albeit, her hands were slightly stiff today. A bowl of tea was eventually set in front of the redhead, who was strangely in her element. The tranquility of a tea ceremony brought up memories of when she'd used to drink a little during her childhood with her father.

The thought of her father only made Mai feel slightly more lethargic.

With respect to the rules of tea ceremonies, Mai took several sips of the frothy tea then looked at her bowl. It had a rather modest design as well, with few elements to observe on its outer surface. The lack of prominence in the President's theme for the ceremony echoed upon Mai's sense of empathy, through which she strongly sensed certain emotions of Shizuru's that resonated with her own. Stealing a peek at the elder, Mai noticed that her hands had been laid atop her lap with the bowl in an effortless grip.

The sunset barely struck the President as it dissipated beyond the mountains. In its place, shadows begun to trace along her features without marring her beauty at all. In fact, the muted ambience sculpted a poetic sense about her. If Mai hadn't laid the bowl down as well, it may have slipped and spilt at this point. The President was a true Japanese beauty, but a sense of longing enamated and touched Mai's soul. Mai was curious, but she was unwilling to disturb the repose sight. Or at least, until Shizuru herself spoke first.

"_Were you looking for someone here?"_ The usually charismatic voice took on a quieter tone.

"_Yes… I was supposed to pass Natsuki print-outs from class,"_ Mai whispered similarly.

"_Natsuki… Huh."_ Despite the smile that formed with a slant of Shizuru's lips, it was sorrowful. It was something she was unable to facade, not when her loneliness was getting out of hand. She only wished for Natsuki's company, but the minute wish was simply not being granted. Where on _earth_ was she? Shizuru brought her bowl to her lips and took another sip, with Mai following suit. The bitterness of the tea was more pronounced than before. Placing her empty bowl onto a tray, Shizuru folded her hands onto her lap yet again. Her gaze landed upon the remaining froths of tea before it was shielded behind eyelids. It was as though she was holding back on something internally; Least, that was how it seemed.

Mai allowed herself to be swallowed up within the melancholic space, ruminating about something yet nothing at all. It was an intangible sense that she could not describe, but it certainly felt unique as a sensation conjured by the simple tea ceremony. What had she been worried about? Worries about Natsuki sprang to the forefront of her mind again, but each sip of the frothy, bitter liquid washed them away. Only tranquility and clarity were left in its wake. Perhaps… Everything was alright to begin with? _'But… Sigh, where are you, Natsuki?'_

"_Tokiha… Would you lend an ear to an odd request of mine?"_ The regret seeped into the weight of Shizuru's hands, even before she could complete her sentence; They clenched into her knees through cloth. It was not something she should be thinking about, not when her mind was still strainfully taut upon its spindles and yearning for the love of her life. But… If she left it be, Shizuru sensed that she may lose whatever remained of herself to the numbing darkness. "_Please…"_

* * *

"_I… President, I'm not too heavy, aren't I?"_ The busty woman shifted her weight less than comfortably, while her front pressed and creased against the kimono fabric. Facing the window, Mai could spot the radiant gold dipping beyond the mountains, siphoning its warmth away bit by bit. Her frame atop the elder woman was pulled close; Judging by the ticklish breaths that caressed her skin, Shizuru's nose was probably poking into the collar of her uniform. To avoid causing any sort of pain with her weight atop the President's _seiza_, Mai could only straddle her lap tentatively.

Chestnut locks smelled of nothing but old tatami; Had the President been lying down on these same tatami mats? It was a bewildering sight to imagine.

_"Not at all, Tokiha… Rather, you have my sincere gratitude for spreading your legs for me."_ Natsuki would have never agreed to such intimacy, wouldn't she? It was a prospect Shizuru could never muster the courage to find out, for fear of losing her entitlement as her crush's closest friend. Holding Natsuki's other friend close, a warm and mild scent wafted into the longing woman's mind. It smelled nothing like her favourite brand of deodorant. Or rather, _Natsuki's… _

_"That's…"_ A scarlet blaze blossomed across Mai's cheeks; How was the President able to speak such embarrassing lines so easily? The redhead's heart had been beating erratically since hearing the elder's request, but how could she utter any form of rejection? While the enigmatic smile remained as Shizuru made her request known, it was betrayed by a forlorn gaze directed from crimson orbs towards lilac ones.

Pressing a hand into Shizuru's back and lifting the second shy of chestnut locks, Mai hesitated. _"May I?"_

_"... Please."_ The motherly touch was a heartwarming surprise.

Even though the President once had her way with her breasts before, Mai could not just leave her in her state. Leaving anyone in the lurch-excluding Tate Yuuichi _('Because h-he can take care of himself! Hmph!')_\- required stoning one's heart to the predicament; That was simply not the sort of person Mai would allow herself to become.

'_In a way, you could say that Tokiha Mai was a person who could love anyone.'_ Shizuru mused to herself as she clung her arms across the redhead's back-With a hand hooked into her sides and the other onto her shoulder. It was obvious that she was taking advantage of the Tokiha girl's kindness, even though the latter had been clearly attracted to men; It was rather obvious whenever she stole glances at the Vice-President or threw a fit with the Tate boy. Even so… Even if Shizuru acknowledged her own shamelessness, all that could fill her emptiness at this point was such kindness. Something that even _Natsuki_ would neglect to share because she had always been numb to such sensitivities.

The brilliance of the sunset, nearly submerged entirely by now, merely blotched the room in a muddy orange.

Oh, how Shizuru wished that Natsuki was more mindful of her needs; But that was what made the girl untouchably beautiful. Nuzzling her nose deeper into the collar of Natsuki's friend, Shizuru took a deep breath. It was wonderful to feel another human's warmth again. The impulse to mark the porcelain skin and receive her first taste of the woman roused irresistibly within Shizuru. Parting her lips slightly, her desires hovered hungrily upon the uncharted territory. Her resolve churned and tossed, but it all fell short from the fact that Mai was simply not the woman she yearned for.

The President's intrusion beneath Mai's clothing gave rise to alien, embarrassing yet pleasurable sensations. Within the crannies of her neck, goosebumps peaked and heated flushes permeated with each gingerly touch. It was as though she were being fussed over by a prideful cat; It was not an uncomfortable feeling, even if puffs of moisture tickled her incessantly. Mai was glad that she was able to comfort Shizuru somehow, despite her usually invincible, impenetrable demeanour. Now, if only Natsuki would return to Fuuka Academy...

"_Natsuki…"_ The name was lightly infused into her skin as though it may shatter with the slightest force. It prickled at Mai's senses and her heart was struck with an inexplicable sense of loneliness. Why did it bother her to receive affection not meant for herself? She consoled the elder, knowing that she merely seeking skinship and company, but it still stung. Mai was unsure whether to hope that it was a slip of the tongue; That the President was meant to call out her name instead. Would that be weird though? What was Shizuru to her exactly, and vice versa?

"_Presi-... Shizuru?"_ The rumbling in Mai's throat snapped Shizuru out of her trance. Her consciousness had gone afloat from reality before she noticed it at all. To be referred to by her first name left Shizuru ill at ease, as refreshing as it was. The only person that ever did that, albeit without causing such an uneasy sensation, was Kuga Natsuki. Did she let something slip amidst her stupor?

"_Yes, Tokiha?"_

"_I… Nothing, nevermind."_

The women clutched tightly between all but each other.


End file.
